Ghosts of the Present
by PrincessDaydream77
Summary: What happened during the first session that David had with his new psychiatrist? And did David finally find a mother figure in the redheaded doctor, who was actually searching for a child she had long since lost?
1. David's Doctor

Ghosts of the Present

Summary: What happened during the first session that David had with his new psychiatrist? And did David finally find a mother figure in the redheaded doctor, who was actually searching for a child she had long since lost?

Disclaimer: I only own the idea, nothing else.

Chapter One

A/N: I've decided to use the word 'mom' as the characters are American. I'm British.

Young David Collins was being led by the hand through the mainly winding hallways of his home, an 18th century manor known by the name of Collinwood. The manor had been in his family for over two hundred years and his aunt, Elizabeth Collins-Stoddard, the one pulling the slightly bored seven-year-old along had never let he or his twelve-year-old cousin Carolyn forget what a noble heritage they had, not that it was easily visible in the half-ruined mansion, nor in the people that inhabited it.

Eventually, the pair reached a large room with a few small armchairs, a desk, a kitchen area, a large bed and what looked to be a doctor's chair, with doctor's equipment set around it.

"Aunt Elizabeth?" asked a curious and slightly scared David.

He gasped and jumped behind his aunt as he caught sight of the woman sat in the armchair at the corner of the room. She was wearing a green, pink and purple floral silk blouse and a black pencil skirt, accompanied by purple high heels. Her hair was a fiery orange and was hanging in a bob down by her shoulders. In fact, David would have thought that she was very pretty if he hadn't been so terrified of her.

"David, this is Doctor Hoffman. She's just here to talk to you about your mother." Elizabeth explained, bringing David forward in front of her and pushing him slightly towards the unknown redhead.

"Okay." whimpered David, reaching up to give his aunt a peck on the cheek as she left.

"Good luck, Doctor Hoffman."

The two were left alone. David noticed for the first time that there was a bottle of red wine on the table in front of the armchair and the woman had a half full glass in her hand. She took a large swig from the glass and beckoned David to come and sit in the armchair opposite her.

"Hi, David." David was taken back. Her voice wasn't harsh and commanding, like he feared it would be. It was soft and considerate, with a strong Metropolitan accent. David was sure that she must have come all the way from New York City for him.

"Hello." squeaked David, still feeling wary of the woman.

"Now, David, do you know why I'm here?" asked the woman.

"You're a doctor."

"I'm a psychiatrist. I help people with problems they have in their mind. I'm here to help you. Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"My mom died in a fishing boat six months ago. Everyone keeps telling me I'm crazy, especially Carolyn, but I'm not lying. I see her, she...talks to me. You probably think I'm crazy too, don't you?"

"No, David, I don't. In fact, I believe you. I think you're totally right. Just because people are dead doesn't mean they love us any less. My mom died too." David looked up at this comment.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah. Although I don't really remember her, she died a few weeks after I was born. My dad died six months later, I grew up in a kid's home with my big brother. So I know how you feel. I think my mom still talks to me sometimes too."

"She appears when I meet strangers, when I'm scared."

"When you need a mom?"

"Yeah."

"Is she here now?"

"No. She's not."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't feel scared of you, so I don't need her. Doctor Hoffman?"

"Yes, David."

"Will you be my mom?" Julia froze, her face softening instantly.

"Oh, David, I'm sorry, but I can't. I'd be fired."

"But what if it was a secret?" asked the boy, looking desperately at Julia. She smiled at him.

"Can you keep a secret, David?" she asked, her smirk widening as he lept up and threw his arms around her, climbing onto her lap as she stroked his hair.

"Yes, yes, yes. I love you, Mom."

"Now, David, it would probably be best if you call me Julia. After all, it's our little secret."

"But you're my mom. Why can't I call you Mom?" David was confused once more.

"Because that would give away the secret, wouldn't it? But _we_ know that every time you call me Julia, you really mean Mom. Right?"

"Right!" exclaimed David, nuzzling into Julia's neck.

They stayed like that for the majority of the session, until Elizabeth's heels clicking against the floorboards of the hallway caused them to spring apart. The matriarch was slightly suspicious when she saw the two sitting stiffly in their armchairs, trying not to giggle.

"Good session, was it?"

"Very. We learnt a lot, didn't we, David?"

"Yes, Aunt Elizabeth, we learnt loads."

"Right, well, David, you've got homework to do for Mrs. Marsh, so off you go."

David reluctantly got up from his seat and followed his aunt to the door. They was almost out of the door when David turned back to her and smiled.

"Goodbye, Julia."

"Goodbye, David."

And the pair left her room. Julia stepped from her chair and walked over to her bed, throwing herself back onto the coverlets in glee. She cast a glance to her side and saw a glowing blue light surrounding a redheaded woman in her thirties, smiling up to her.

"So. A son, eh?"

"Julianne Louise Merida Hoffman, I am so proud of you. You'll make a brilliant mother to that boy, I know you will. I love you." Then the woman faded and vanished, the light dimming to a mere glow.

"I love you too, Mom."

A/N: Please tell me what you think, your reviews mean everything to me.


	2. The Nightmare Child

Chapter Two

A/N: This was originally a one-shot story, but my two reviewers, EleKat and dionne dance, wanted me to continue, so I am. Here's chapter two. Let me know what you think.

Collinsport was silent in the moonlight. The bedrooms of each home were full of gently sleeping people and even the harbour was still in the pitch blackness. Silence was the only sound. Except for the scream.

It was penetrating the blackness of the entire town from its source, far within Collinwood manor. Elizabeth, Carolyn and Roger met at the top of the stairs, Carolyn hurriedly telling her mother and uncle that the screaming was coming from the little brat's room. Taking the hint, Roger and Elizabeth bolted for David's room, the latter moving a lot more hurriedly than the former, while Carolyn returned to her bedroom, slamming the door and throwing a pillow over her head to block out the sound of the 'seven-year-old psycho'.

When she reached her young nephew's bedroom door, Elizabeth flew through it, Roger now hot on her heels, but froze at the sight of the eight-year-old thrashing in his sleep and screaming for his mother.

"Liz, we have to wake him up, this is dangerous."

"No!" exclaimed Elizabeth. Even though she admired the fact that her brother was finally showing a little extra concern for his only son, she didn't feel safe to wake her nephew from his nightmare.

"Roger, I don't think we should wake him, it could be dangerous."

"No, you're right, Liz. We should get Julia, she's a professional." agreed Roger, glancing worriedly at his young son. Elizabeth, taking the hint, ran out of the room and down the corridor. She took three rights and a left, running to the end of her well-practiced route, knocking vigorously on the old wooden door. She had her quick reactions to thank that she didn't hit the psychiatrist in the face when she swng open the door, a sleepy expression on her face and a half-filled glass of red wine in her hand. Elizabeth sensed that it wasn't her first, but didn't see fit to broach the subject with her employee at the time.

"Liz? What is it?" Her voice wasn't as slurred as Elizabeth expected it to be, but she did sound extremely tired and quite impatient.

"It's David. He's having a really bad nightmare and we don't know if we should wake him. We need you."

Julia was suddenly wide awake. She ran over to her desk, put down the glass and ran with Elizabeth back to David's room. She ran through the open door, past Roger and up to David's bed. She sat down next to him, being careful of his flailing arms and began to stroke his hair soothingly.

"David." she said, continuing to stroke his hair. "David! David, wake up for me! David!"

The boy suddenly bolted upright, his screams not subsiding.

"MOM!" he yelled.

"Shh, David. I'm here. I'm here, David, shh."

"Julia?!" he cried.

"It's me. I'm here, David. Oh my gosh, David, you scared us so much."

"I'm sorry, Julia." he gasped, trying to choke back the sobs that remained from his nightmare. He was failing miserably and gave up trying as the psychiatrist wrapped her arms around his shaking form, his tears soaking through her floral nightgown.

"Shh, it's alright, David. It's alright." comforted Julia, rubbing gentle circles on his back.

"Don't leave me, Julia, I don't want you to go."

"It's alright, David, I'm not going anywhere. I've talked to your Aunt Elizabeth and I've got a contract drawn up and as far as I know, it's permanant. So, it looks like you're stuck with me, David. For good."

A/N: Okay, second chapter. I know it's probably shorter than chapters I normally write, but I wanted to get it up soon. Next chapter will be about Julia's past being discussed with David, then I have writer's block.


	3. Happy Endings Don't Exist

Chapter Three

A/N: Here's chapter three. Just to mention, I don't know if Barnabas married Josette, but for the sake of this, he did and I only wrote that Julia did her specialty training, meaning that it would have taken her 6 years to become a psychiatrist, when it actually takes 13, but for the sake of this, she did her medical school at the same time. Thank you so much again to dionne dance and EleKat for giving me some brilliant ideas, and to HBCfan56 and sugarplumfairy123 for reviewing. This idea is partly my own, but the idea of the passageways and exploring during the sessions came from dionne dance. Thank you and review!

What Julia had said was true, she had absolutely no intention of leaving and Elizabeth wasn't about to force her. David's nightmares hadn't become much better, so bad in fact that Julia ended up spending more than a few sleepless nights in a chair beside David's bed, ready to comfort him, should his nightmares worsen during the night. To be absolutely honest, Julia felt that it was actually equally as comforting to her as it was to the boy, she felt as if she were safer from nightmares at David's side as well.

Eventually the nightmares passed and the household calmed down again. Julia and David began to have more fun in their sessions, though they still touched on the subject of his mother and the ghosts regularly. They had also taken to learning more about the family history of the Collins', David's particular favourite subject being that of his ancestor, Barnabas, who was rumoured to have been transformed into a vampire by a jealous witch after he married his wife, Josette.

That particular day, they had been investigating a hidden passageway that David had discovered in his aunt's study. It clearly hadn't been used for decades, judging by the amount of dust and cobwebs that littered the space. David had been quite quiet when they found the passage, but he began laughing uncontrollably when Julia accidentally walked into a thin layer of cobwebs, causing her to scream so loudly that David thought his aunt would come running down after them.

Eventually, they found an exit behind an aged tapestry near Carolyn's room and, once they had reached the psychiatrist's office, they both collapsed in the armchairs in a fit of giggles. This went on for a few minutes until their hiccups had worn off, when David finally broke the wave of quiet with a question.

"Doctor Hoffman?"

"Yes, David?"

"I've been telling you my entire life story for weeks, learning my family history with you. I trust you so much, you know everything about me. But I just realised that...well, I don't really know anything about you."

"Well, what do you want to know?" asked the doctor, not breaking eye contact with the boy.

"What I've told you. Your childhood, how you got to be here, just...stuff."

"Well..." Julia's eye contact had falted, her gaze now directed at the floorboards.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me, I mean it's your job to find out about me, you don't have to-"

"David, it's okay. But I'm gonna warn you, it's not a fairytale, there isn't much of a happy ending."

"Happy endings are for babies, they don't properly exist. Tell me, please."

"Well, you already know what happened to me in my really early childhood. My mother died a few weeks after I was born, my father couldn't cope without her, he died six months later. I was taken to Ohel Children's Home, where my brother and I were seperated for twenty-five weeks when he was fostered. Then he came back and we were together for a while. But then he turned sixteen, which was the leaving age to either move out on your own or go to a halfway-house. I was only nine, so I still had seven years before I could leave with him. He said he'd wait for me, but I didn't hear from him until I was sixteen myself. I decided to go to the halfway-house and I met a guy there. Caleb. Caleb Hoffman."

"You were married?" asked David, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Still am."

"What happened?"

"I'm getting to that. Well, I was still a little scared when I went up to the halfway-house, most of the kids were older than me. But there was one eighteen-year-old that helped me. He was just about to move out when I moved in, it was his eighteenth birthday. Anyway, he asked me out to the movies and we started to make it a regular thing. Then two years later, I turned eighteen and, well, he asked me to marry him. And I said yes."

"Then what happened, Julia?" asked David, urging the psychiatrist on.

"Well, we got married. I became Mrs. Julianne Hoffman. It took me another six years of specialty training to become a psychiatrist, I only just qualified when I got this job. But there was a point when my faith in my medical opinion faltered."

"When?"

"When it took me five and a half weeks to figure out that I was pregnant." Julia stopped as David covered his mouth, his eyes still wide and his mouth still gaping at the shock of what the doctor had told him.

"You had a baby?"

"Yeah, I did. For a while. Do you want me to go on with this?"

David said nothing, just nodded anxiously.

"Well, I told my husband and he was absolutely thrilled. I'd never seen him so excited. I was worried that he would be distant, but he wasn't, he was brilliant. Anyway, seven months later, I had my baby. A little baby girl."

"What did you call her?" asked David.

"Madeleine. Madeleine Julianne Kiera Hoffman. It was a tradition in my family. Two middle names, the first her mother and the second her paternal grandmother. Caleb's mother's name is Kiera and my name is Julianne. So we got that."

"That's cool. What's yours?"

"Mine is Julianne Louise Merida Hoffman, named after Merida Prince, my grandmother and Louise Prince, my mother."

"So, what happened next?" wondered David, looking at his psychiatrist.

"Well, we had quite a happy life for about three months. Spoiled Madeleine rotten. Then he left. Caleb left me. He was called up for an army application he'd put in, years ago. So, I was on my own for months with Madeleine. Then I got a letter from Cairan, my brother, telling me to go and see him. So I did. Then there was, like, an army patrol, of Caleb's regiment, so I went to that. I didn't take Madeleine, I didn't want her to see her father with a gun. I saw him and we chatted for a bit, then I went home, to Cairan's house. Only he wasn't there. Neither was Kathy, his wife, or his son, Tauren. They were just gone. Well, I went inside and there were two letters. One was from Cairan, telling me he'd gone to Ohio for his new job. The other was from the Social. They'd sent Madeleine to live with Caleb. So, I went to find him, but he wasn't there. I'd lost my husband and my daughter in one day. So, I came here."

"When was this?"

"Six years ago." Julia hadn't noticed that she was crying until David wrapped his arms around her.

"That's really sad, Julia, but you've got us now. You've got me, Carolyn, Aunt Elizabeth, even my dad. We'll look after you, and I'm sure that Madeleine's fine."

"Yeah. I'm sure you're right, David. Come on, let's go and get some cocoa from Mrs. Johnson, yeah?"

"Yeah." The boy got up from Julia's lap and grabbed her hand, hanging onto it all the way to the kitchen.

'_No. I don't have my daughter._' thought the psychiatrist. '_But I definately have my son._'

A/N: Please review. I need to know how I'm doing. Plus I have writer's block now, so reviews might help to clear it.


	4. Friendship and Family

Chapter Four

A/N: Thank you to my reviewer of the chapter, EleKat, who gave me part of the inspiration for this chapter. Also thanks to dionne dance for her advice and for listening to my life story, in a way. Thank you!

David had refrained from mentioning Julia's past again, after seeing how upset it had made the woman, but it hadn't caused as much of a rift between them as he had thought that it would. Their sessions continued as usual, their laughter continuing every time, though they didn't study as much of his family history as they had previously.

David was also getting along better with the children in his class at school. In fact, for the first time, he seemed to have a best friend, Rennie, who he never seemed to stop talking about. Finally, Elizabeth agreed to have Rennie around for tea one Thursday night.

Rennie was a small boy with dark brunette hair, chestnut eyes and a permanantly resident lopsided smile that almost made Julia's heart melt with the cuteness of it. He reminded her somewhat of her own childhood, laughing around and smiling with her brother. It was one of those memories that brought a true smile to her face in the present as well.

Little Rennie was a nice enough boy, though a lot quieter than David was when at dinner. He did talk a little, of course, mainly about school, before he and David ran back upstairs to play, running around with pots and pans on their heads, pretending to be spacemen. That is, until Elizabeth noticed the items missing from the kitchen and chased them round the house, demanding them back. The boys eventually had to acquiesce, but managed to amuse themselves for the next couple of hours before Elizabeth finally called them down.

"Rennie, your mom's here to pick you up! David, come on!"

The boys looked at each other and started play-fighting, laughing away until a knock came at the door. They both halted in their game and silence fell in the room as the knock resounded once again.

"Aunt Elizabeth?" asked David hesitantly, hoping beyond hope that he was wrong.

"No. It's me, it's Julia. David, can you come out now? Rennie, you too, please." Julia's voice, although comforting to the young boy, was stern and David knew he would have to leave the room. He reached for the key and turned it, slowly opening the door and walking out, Rennie hot on his heels.

"Goodbye, Rennie. I hope we'll see you again soon." smiled Julia, once the three had reached the left top of the staircase. Rennie set off down the stairs, while David hung back a little, tugging on Julia's hand.

"Come on, Julia. I want you to meet Rennie's mom. It what moms do, anyway, talk to other moms about stuff when they come to pick up their kids. They just do. Come on."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming. But just for a couple of minutes, Aunty Liz said that Rennie's mom had to get home quickly tonight." Julia then walked forward with David, the pair decending the staircase hand in hand.

Rennie was chatting endlessly with his mother, who was facing towards the door. The young boy then waved wildly at Julia, who smiled back to him.

"Mom, this is David's mom, Julia." said Rennie, still speaking to his mother.

"Hi, nice to meet you-" began the redhead, as Rennie's brunette mother turned to face her. However, when their eyes met, Julia's voice caught in her throat a little.

"Julie?" asked the woman, a beaming smile lighting up her face.

"Kathy?" breathed Julia in response, her mouth wide open as she looked at the woman. Suddenly, the two women moved towards each other, reaching out their arms and embracing one another closely, seemingly forgetting that their respective sons were watching, confusion evident on both of their faces. They pulled away after a couple of moments, though still not explaining to the boys.

"So Rennie must be-"

"Tauren." finished Kathy. Then the woman gasped, realisation flooding over her face.

"Julie, look after Tauren for a moment, I've gotta go to the car. Just give me a second." she cried, running through the doors and out to her car. Julia set about explaining a little to the boys. She turned back to the doors as Kathy returned, shepherding a small child behind her. It was a young girl, probably only around four or five, wearing a purple dress top over black leggings, purple pumps and a matching bow on the headband set on top of her waving locks. Her bright sunset orange locks. Julia's mouth dropped open, tears flowing from her eyes as she realised that the girl stood in front of her was no stranger. In fact, she was someone that the psychiatrist knew very well.

"Madeleine."

A/N: Cliffhanger! Please, please, please review!


	5. Meeting Maddy

Chapter Five

A/N: Thanks to coolasbeanz433 and BehindTheMask4310968 for reviewing.

Julia's mouth remained open in shock. After all this time, after all she had dreamed, her own little daughter was standing in front of her, as if she had merely gone to stay at a friend's house for the night.

"Oh my God." breathed Julia, a slight smile replacing her open mouthed shock. The little girl turned uncertainly to Kathy and beckoned her hand towards her aunt. The woman knelt down beside her and the young girl lifted both hands to shield her mouth, whispering a few words into her aunt's ear. When she had finished, Kathy nodded, a smile creeping up onto her face at the child's anxious question.

"Yes, Madeleine. It's Mommy."

With that, the tiny redhead began to walk towards Julia, her uncertainty matched by her curiosity. Sensing her inability to make the decision, Julia knelt down on the floor and spread her arms wide. A smile spread across both of their faces as Madeleine ran towards her, falling into her embrace and wrapping her arms around her back.

"Oh, Maddy!" cried Julia, tears wetting her eyelashes, causing the girl to cling to her tighter. However, a sudden noise from behind Julia caused the two to break apart abruptly.

"Julia, what is going on here?" asked Elizabeth, her voice both curious and demanding. Julia visibly took a deep breath before sharing a glance with David, who nodded at her, smiling encouragingly.

"Liz, this is Madeleine. My daughter." The explanation clearly shocked Elizabeth, as she gasped loudly, her eyes drifting from her employee to the six-year-old girl by her side.

"Whoa! Loony Julie's got a kid!" came a cackle from up the stairs, causing the matriarch to lift her head upwards and yell at the source of the voice.

"Carolyn, get back to your room! You are grounded!" the woman yelled, her face flushing slightly at the insensitive comment her teenage daughter had made. She then returned her gaze to Julia.

"Julia, would you care to explain to me what on earth is going on?" Elizabeth asked, her voice reaching a crescendo as the sentence went on.

"Liz, I... the thing is... actually, it's kind of hard to explain." Julia sighed, sitting gently on the stone floor and pulling the young girl into her lap. David, however, jumped immediately to the woman's defence.

"It's simple, Aunty Liz. Julia had a baby, but then the baby disappeared. Now, she's back. Maddy's the baby. It's not Julia's fault, she just had a bad experience. We can't blame her for that, can we?"

Elizabeth's gaze redirected itself to the floor, where it remained for the next few moments. Julia's gaze was also directed at quite the same spot, her arms not leaving her daughter's shoulders, while Kathy and Rennie shifted slightly in the background.

"Hey, um, Kathy? Why don't you go back home with Rennie and Maddy, then we can talk tomorrow, alright?" Julia asked quietly, standing slowly and reluctantly directing her daughter back towards her cousin and auntie.

"Alright. Julie, we live at 36 Angel Drive. Come down whenever and we can have a chat." Kathy informed her sister-in-law, reaching out her hand for Maddy's.

"But I don't want to leave Mommy." Maddy complained, acquiescing nonetheless. The statement broke Julia's heart, as it did to watch her daughter turn her back and leave her alone again.

"Julia. My office, please. Now." The psychiatrist had been expected the statement and turned immediately, following the blonde to the room she had specified, where the door was shut behind her and she was left to face Elizabeth alone, sitting almost vulnerably in the chair beside the desk.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" the woman exclaimed, whipping round to face her friend.

"You never asked." Julia replied, with a hint of a laugh that disappeared in an instant.

"This is serious, Julia! A child of yours just turning up on our doorstep is a dismissible offence." Julia raised her gaze from her lap, her eyes flaring with anger and fear.

"Liz, I have been here for six months now. I have worked with David every day, and with Carolyn a little bit as well. I have been nothing but loyal to this family. You can't sack me after all that just because I have a daughter I never thought I would see again. Please." Julia was begging now, but she couldn't see any alternative in the situation.

"Julia, I really don't know."

"Please, Liz. If someone judged you because Carolyn had turned up at your workplace, you wouldn't think it was fair if I just sacked you, would you?"

"No, I suppose not." Elizabeth conceded, nodding her head slightly in agreement.

"Well, then. If you wouldn't want someone to judge you on Carolyn, why are you judging me on Maddy?" Julia asked, deciding that if she was going to make a point, she might as well hit close to home with her friend. Her tactics were successful, as Elizabeth sighed in defeat.

"Alright, you win." the matriarch submitted, causing a beaming smile to spread across Julia's face.

"But I wouldn't be a responsible employer if I didn't make you go and sort this mess out."

"Do you mean-?" Julia asked, her tone unmistakably hopeful.

"Go and see her, Julia. You've got the rest of the day off, just go and see Maddy. She deserves a day after four years."

"Oh, Liz, thank you!" Julia exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down with excitement as she bolted from the room, grabbed her coat and set off out of the door.

Unbeknownst to her, in an upstairs window, someone was watching her, a single tear staining the glass of the window as he watched his friend walk away from him. He had wanted her to see her daughter of course, she deserved that much, but he had never considered that she would choose Maddy over him. Well, now she had done.

Wiping the single tear away, David walked away from the window.

A/N: Happy and sad in one chapter, eh? Please review, good review, bad review, any review, just please review!


	6. Joyful Reunions

Chapter Six

A/N: Thanks to dionne dance, my ever faithful reviewer.

Julia trembled like a leaf as she approached the beginning of Angel Drive, knowing her little girl was but a few minutes away. It was just like a dream, almost too good to be true. Hopefully, Julia wouldn't be waking up any time soon.

Turning her attention back to the task at hand, Julia glanced at the numbers on the houses. Eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen. The numbers seemed to pass more slowly the higher they became, though the redhead knew it was just a side effect of her excitement and anticipation.

After what could only have been a minute, though it felt so much longer, Julia reached number thirty six. Breathing a heavy sigh to steady her rapidly beating heart, Julia walked up the flight of steps to reach the door, rapping on the knocker as soon as she reached it, turning around to admire the garden. It was beautifully landscaped, so beautifully that Julia assumed Kathy wouldn't have let anyone else near. She always used to be like that. Julia bent down to admire the gorgeous flowerbed, so absorbed in the vivid colours that she didn't hear the door swing open, or the gasp that escaped the lips of the man stood in the doorway.

"Julie?" he asked, catching the corner of the woman's eye. She turned slowly, her mouth open in awe as she saw the figure of another she never thought she would see again.

"Cairan." she replied, tears filling her eyes as they were his identical ones.

Neither knew how it happened, but only a moment later, the pair was locked in an embrace, tears flowing as they held each other, for the first time in far too many years.

"How did you find us?" Cairan asked, sniffling a little in a way that was most unlike the brother Julia remembered.

"I didn't." Julia answered honestly, to the man's surprise. Seeing his frown of confusion, the redhead elaborated. "Rennie. He met my… David, the boy I look after, at school. He came round, and Kathy came to pick him up."

"Kathy came to your house?" Cairan asked, surprise taking over confusion.

"Collinwood, yeah. And… well, she brought Maddy. That's why I'm here."

"Of course you are." the man stated, smiling, albeit a little flinchingly, at the happiness the child's name had brought to his younger sister. "I'm so glad that you've got her back, Julie. It's been way too long."

"Oh, I know. Only five years and it feels like a lifetime since I saw her. I thought I'd moved on with my life, that I'd found something else to do, but I've realised that I've just been kidding myself. All I really wanted, all this time… was to be a mom. A mom like I didn't have."

A pain filled silence dominated the air around them, the two Princes standing side by side as they remembered the times past, Cairan thinking of the times he had known with his parents, while Julia tried to summon as many glimpses as she could from the recesses of her mind. Just a moment passed before Cairan wrapped his arms around his sister once again.

"She'd be proud of you, Julie. Mom would be so proud." Cairan whispered, stroking the woman's hair as she began to cry.

"I know, and of you. They both would, I think." she replied through her tears, though the flow was almost immediately stopped when she heard a quiet voice from behind her brother, and saw a flash of red on the staircase.

"Mommy?"

"Oh, Maddy!" Julie exclaimed, breaking away from Cairan to embrace her daughter, who hugged with all the might a five year old could have. It pained Julia slightly to know that Maddy was so desperate to hold onto her, as if fearful that she had imagined her mother's return to her life, as she had done the same the first time she had seen her mother as a ghost. Still, she was truly here now, and everything would be alright.

By the time the pair had pulled away, Kathy and Rennie had appeared alongside Cairan in the doorway. All three were smiling at the scene before them, just as the two redheads were.

"I didn't expect you back this early." Kathy commented, with a tiny laugh.

"Liz gave me the rest of the day off, so I wondered if I could take Maddy out, maybe?" Julia asked her sister in law, more than a hint of hope in her voice. Kathy was nodding even before the other woman had finished her question.

"Of course you can, love. Maddy, do you want to go out with Mommy?"

"Yeah!" the little girl exclaimed, a beaming smile illuminating her face, making her look more cheerful than she had in years, at least to Cairan and Kathy, who had brought her up for that time.

"Alright, then. Go and get your coat." the man instructed, sending the child sprinting towards the hooks on the wall, grasping the purple fabric and pulling it down as she ran to the door, ending up at the bottom of the garden before even thirty seconds had passed.

"Right. Well, I'd better get going then." Julia stated, watching Maddy with a smile before returning her gaze to the pair, who were now alone as Rennie had gone upstairs. "Thanks for this, both of you. You really don't know how much I appreciate it."

"Hey, she's your daughter. True, we brought her up for the last few years, but she needs her Mom. And that's you."

"Thanks, Cairan." the younger sister replied, waving with one hand as she clasped Maddy's with the other. They both waved until they turned a corner in the road, bringing them out of sight to the couple, who were now slightly tearful without Maddy's company, when they paused together, still smiling just as much as they had been doing when they had first seen each other at the house.

"So, do you want to go to the beach?" Julia questioned her daughter, mentioning the first place she could think of that may be of interest to a five year old.

"Yeah!" Maddy exclaimed in response, taking her mother's hand as they began to walk in the direction of the place they had decided on.

As they walked, a sudden thought struck Julia. '_I'm finally a mom. It's all I've wanted for so long, and I finally have it. I've got Maddy, and she wants me to stay. Everything might just be alright._'

A/N: I know the updates are few and far between, but I have tons of stories (if you don't believe me, check my profile page!) and I'm trying to update them all equally. Please review this, so that I know to prioritise this one.


	7. Forgiveness

Chapter Seven

A/N: Thanks once again to dionne dance for reviewing. You're awesome.

When she arrived back at Collinwood, Julia could be grounded by no one. She had spent the entire evening with little Maddy, and had been utterly thrilled that, when she was returned to Cairan and Kathy, the girl had not wanted her to leave. Because of this, she had promised to return the very next day, cheering the child no end.

Unable to contain her anticipation, Julia near skipped through the doors when she reached them, humming slightly under her breath as she did.

So caught up in all of her excitement, it took the woman a fair few moments to notice the child stood in the shadows of the staircase. The other child in her life. The one who, over the past few hours, she had practically forgotten.

"David?" she questioned gently, moving quietly toward the boy, who took a large step backwards away from her, his features twisting into a frown, something Julia had never seen on him, and never wanted to see again either. "David, I'm sorry. I know I haven't been here today, but I've been sorting things out with my brother, about Maddy. Just some business stuff."

"You're lying!" he exclaimed in response, a tear falling from his eye. "I saw you down at the beach, building sandcastles and eating ice cream. That didn't look like just business stuff to me."

Julia was silenced, considering what the boy had said. Each word was true, none was fabricated and she found that she had no response to give. It took her quite a while to think of one, and even longer to muster the courage to speak it.

"David, I am really sorry. Please believe me, I am. It's just that… David, she's my little girl, I haven't seen her for four years. I guess everything else just went out of my head." The woman knew that she was pleading with the young boy now, but she could see nothing else to do. She just prayed that he would understand.

"Yeah. Everything, including me." the boy said once again, sighing as he let the words fall past his lips, and doing so again when he saw the tears surface in the doctor's eyes. "I want to forgive you for that, Julia. I just don't know if I can yet."

With the final sentence, David began to walk away, leaving Julia utterly despaired in the doorway, clutching at her sides as she sobbed.

'_What have I done?'_ she thought to herself, tears streaming unendingly down her face. '_I've got my little girl back, and in doing that, I've lost my little boy. I don't know what to do. I can't abandon David, but I can't leave Maddy either, not after all these years that she has needed me and I haven't been there. If only I could think of a way to keep them both with me. If only I knew what to do now.'_

Julia could still hardly believe how the day had turned on its head. Just five hours ago, she had discovered that her daughter was in Collinsport, right under her nose, and she could not have been happier. Now, she had had to leave Maddy with her brother and his family, and had returned to her workplace, where she was rejected by David, the boy she had come to love as a son. Everything seemed to be going wrong.

"He'll come round, you know." sounded a voice from behind the woman, prompting her to turn and face the door. "David doesn't hold grudges, not really. You have that on your side, at least. He won't let you slip through his fingers, Julia. You're the best thing that's happened to him in years."

Even through her tears, Julia could not help but smile at the comment. She had not known that she could have made such a huge impression on David in the short time it had been since they had met. It meant a lot to her that she had done that, almost as much as the boy himself meant.

"How long do you think it will take, Liz? For him to forgive me?" Julia asked, looking her employer in the eye as she rose from her position on the floor. The woman shrugged her shoulders slight, walking forwards to place her hands on the woman's upper arms, smiling encouragingly.

"Not long, at all. In fact, he might even have done so already. He's just a little too proud to say it." Elizabeth told her, moving off in the direction of her study, in search of a bottle of wine to wash down the dramatic day's events. However, as she reached the first step of the staircase, the blonde stopped, turning to face her employee once again. "Oh, and Julia?"

"Yes?" the redhead replied immediately.

"I would never tell you to do anything, either way. But… I have a feeling that David is in the attic." With a slight wink in the direction of her friend, Elizabeth went on her way, leaving Julia, buoyed with a little more confidence, alone.

Five minutes passed, and Julia had begun to ascend the staircase of the attic, wincing a little as the ancient wooden steps creaked. The last thing she wanted to do at this point was shock poor David.

However, she did not need to worry about doing so, as when she emerged in the room, she saw immediately that David was facing the stairs.

"Hey." Julia began, trying to add just a touch of happiness to her tone.

"Hey." David replied, obviously trying to do the opposite.

"Listen, David. I have to go and see Maddy, she's my daughter, but… you're my son, and I don't want to fight with you. So… do you think you can forgive me?"

For a moment, silence was all that filled the air of the attic, as David contemplated what the doctor was asking of him. Then, he turned to her and wrapped his arms tightly around the woman, knocking her off balance slightly before she held tightly against her, smiles adorning both of their faces.

"I always wanted a sister, anyway."

A/N: I'll try to update quickly, because there is a bit of a plot twist in the next chapter or two. I'm aiming for three or four weeks, but, of course, the more reviews I get, the quicker I'll update. So… please review!


	8. Lost and Found

Chapter Eight

A/N: Thank you to TheDarkMistressBellatrix, Redejeka and Anonymous for reviewing the last chapter.

Over the next week, while Julia spent some time becoming accustomed to being a mother of two, rather than just of one, as she had been previously, both David and Maddy were extremely enjoying being siblings. Of course, David had had Carolyn while he was growing up, and Maddy had had Tauren to keep her company, but both of them were now far happier, having a true sibling of their own, and a mother to share between them.

Julia herself was also a great deal happier, having the security of knowing that no further arguments were likely to occur between her and David, and that Maddy was not going to go away again. Everything was almost ideal for the woman, and she would let nothing stand in the way of her having her perfect family. Unfortunately, fate did not wish to play by her rules.

It was a Thursday afternoon, at around three o'clock, and Maddy was due to come home from her school, alongside David, who also attended Collinsport Elementary, as he had done for three years. For the first time, she would return to Collinwood straight away, as she had been permitted to do so by Cairan and Kathy, now that she had become settled around her mother. Julia had been preparing for the evening ever since she had learnt of the plan the previous Monday, when her young daughter had informed her, bringing tears to her eyes, that the plan itself had been hers. Now, that the time had come, she felt that she had never been as excited in her life. She did not yet know that the feeling was not to last.

As she reached the school gates, her nerves were so terrible that she could hardly put one foot straight in front of the other without nearly tripping over her own feet. '_This is one of the happiest days I've had in years. How can I be so nervous about seeing my own daughter, when I've seen her every day for almost a fortnight? I'm just being ridiculous, that's all it is__.__'_ But little did she know that was not all that there was to the story.

As the doors of the school opened once again, another rush of over exited children escaping the building to join those few who had already left, Julia tried in vain to spot her young daughter among the crowd of pupils, teachers and parents. There were dozens of children within the group, running towards their families in a rush to get home, and, though a couple of them had red hair, none ran towards her.

"Mom!" came a sudden exclamation from behind her and Julia turned to face the source, hoping to see that it was her daughter. Instead, she was faced with her son, whose face was reddened by the evident running he had been doing over the past few minutes, in an attempt to locate his mother, though for what purpose, the woman did not yet know. Her blissful ignorance would not last for long.

"David? What's the matter?" she asked her young son, not yet aware of what was causing the boy's fear, and how important it truly was. The boy said nothing at first, merely stood in silence and shook with terror, prompting Julia to lean down and wrap her arms tightly around him, pulling his head to her shoulder as he began to cry. "Oh, David. What's wrong? Tell me."

It took the boy a few moments to calm even enough to breathe normally, let alone speak, but when he did, it was in a panicked tone. "I tried to stop him, but I didn't know how to. He wouldn't listen to me. I know that I was meant to protect her, and I tried, Mom, really, but she got away from me. When I turned around, she was just gone. I'm so sorry."

"What are you talking about, David?" the redhead questioned, bending right down on her knees to be closer to eye level with the dark haired boy, who was now more terrified than ever, each question she asked seeming to make him worse. Seeing this, the woman stroked his curls back away from his face, a gesture that had always calmed him before, and that she hoped would again. "Who were you meant to be protecting, and what happened to them to make you so upset? David?"

Now, her worry beginning to mount, Julia gently shook her son's shoulders, desperate to know what the boy was concealing from her, and the identity of the mysterious girl, another thing that was causing her a great deal of concern. David did not associate with girls, as none of the boys of his age did, meaning there was only one person he could have possible let down.

As realisation dawned on her, tears began to swim in the woman's eyes, spilling over onto her face as her mind finally decoded the cryptic messages that David had been speaking to her. Her heart raced and her skin became pale, and for just a moment, she was certain that her blood had run cold within her veins. '_This can't be happening.'_ she thought, breathing so heavily that she was amazed the voice inside her head was audible, even to her own ears. '_He can't mean what I think he does. I must be wrong. Please let me be wrong.'_

"David, please. Please, I need to know." she told the boy, choking on her sobs as she spoke and trying, futilely, to blink back the rivers of tears that were marring her face. "David!"

"It was her." the boy revealed, still crying, though admittedly rather less than his mother was doing, out of both pity and guilt. Actually, it would not be easy to cry more than Julia was doing at present, as she was almost hysterical with the grief she felt. "It was Maddy."

A/N: Uh oh! What will happen next? Take a guess and review!


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